Subash Chhetri, the 23-year-old kitchen hand who died in the Goa nightclub fire, had planned to visit his home in Darjeeling district in March, his sister said on Monday.

Subash had migrated to Goa for work in January last year, leaving behind his 55-year-old mother Tankamaya Chhetri at their home in Banurchhat, a hamlet about 30km from Siliguri.

“He had begun looking for work after completing his higher secondary from a Nepali-medium school in Naxalbari,” Urmila, his elder sister, said.

“With the help of an acquaintance, he went to Goa in January last year and joined the nightclub’s kitchen.”

Subash Chhetri

She added: “He wanted to visit home during Dasain (in September-October this year), but the flight fares were too high. He then changed his plans and said he would come home in March next year. We received the heartbreaking news on Sunday.”

Subash is believed to be the only person from Bengal to have died in the blaze that broke out early on Sunday morning at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, north Goa. Twenty of the 25 people killed were staff members.

Urmila said that after she married and moved to Kalimpong in 2019, Subash took up small jobs to support himself and their mother.

Since he left for Goa, Urmila’s husband Somom Lepcha would often visit his mother-in-law — who was living alone — to take care of her.

When news of the fire broke on Sunday, neighbours and acquaintances urged the family to check on Subash’s safety. His mobile phone kept ringing but nobody answered.

“Later, his name appeared on the list of the dead,” Urmila said, fighting back tears. “My husband has travelled to Goa to bring his remains back home.”

Sources said Somom was busy tending to the formalities in Goa. “We expect him to bring Subash’s body here tomorrow,” a villager said.